David Bradley

There’s a lot up in the air concerning Doctor Whothese days. The recent season just began this past Saturday, and we know it’s Peter Capaldi‘s last as the Doctor, but along with the question of who the Doctor might be regenerating into is the question of when the Twelfth Doctor will regenerate. Capaldi said that he’s already filmed his “death” scene, but it was originally reported that Twelve will change up his appearance during this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special. And now there’s this, a rumour that there will be another Doctor on call when Capaldi says goodbye in December… (more…)

November 23rd is… TOMORROW! These past 11 days leading to the Doctor Who 50th anniversary, we here at Nerd Bastard’s have shared with you a few of our favorite Whovian things. And on this 50th anniversary eve there’s only one last thing to share, the episode that started it all, “An Unearthly Child.” (more…)

As the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who steadily approaches, each day gives us something new to get excited about. Today, it’s this butt load of new pictures from both “The Day of the Doctor” as well as Mark Gatiss‘ docu-drama, An Adventure in Space and Time. (more…)

At the moment we’re drifting in the void awaiting new Doctor Who. The 50th anniversary special will air on November 23rd, followed by the Christmas special on Christmas Day, and Series 8 is expected to begin late summer 2014. At least that’s what showrunner Steven Moffat revealed in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly all about Comic Con.

The interview, available online as well as in print, covers just about everything you’d want to pry from the mind of The Moff. In it he discusses the search for the next Doctor, when we’ll see the new Doctor, when he knew Matt Smith was leaving, the length of the 50th anniversary special, what is was like having Matt and David Tennant work together, just everything! Though, any real spoilers are cleverly hidden by Moffat’s usual knack for misdirection and tight lips.

But first! Check out this officially released image of David Bradley as the First Doctor, William Hartnell, for the BBC‘s other anniversary special, An Adventure in Space in Time, chronicling the early days of Who and written by Mark Gatiss.

Uncanny, isn’t it!? The more we see from this docu-drama, the more excited I may be for it over the show’s proper anniversary special. Okay, that’s a lie, I’m out of mind with excitement for the 50th anniversary special, but I’m totally stoked for this, too.

We only learned of the cast for Mark Gatiss‘ docudrama about the early days of Doctor Who last week, and on Sunday they began filming. In the photos below snapped by Andrew Mark Sewell, you can just make out David Bradley as the First Doctor, William Hartnell, and Jessica Raine as Doctor Who producer, Verity Lambert.

Above photo by by Jake Humphrey. The top picture is from Ann Marie Stephenson and shows the TARDIS on location at Wimbledon Common. The photos from Joseph Burne (left) and Darcylotr (right) below give you an even better look at the original TARDIS’ rougher yet still so recognizable look,

This docudrama is expected to air around the time of Who’s 50th Anniversary, November 23rd.

Of all the rumors surrounding Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary the most prevalent is a possible reunion of all past Doctors, but at this point, it’s a pipe dream. (Unless you pick up Big Finish’s celebratory audio drama reuniting Doctors 4-8 with digital wizardry cameos from 1, 2, & 3.) But one Doctor will for sure be back on TV in time for the 50th, the First Doctor, William Hartnell as portrayed by David Bradley in the docudrama, An Adventure in Time and Space. Exploring the turbulent beginnings of the long running sci-fi program, the drama is written by frequent Steven Moffat collaborator, Mark Gatiss, with Moffat and Caro Skinner exec producing.

The casting announcement was made along with the announcement BBC America will also be airing the docudrama when it premieres. Not unlike how Doctor Who airs on the same day, both sides of the pond. Filming for An Adventure in Time and Space begins next month. Joining Bradley are Jessica Raine as producer Verity Lambert and Brian Cox as Sydney Newman, BBC’s then-Head of Drama. Another case of Doctor Who looking within for casting as Bradley already appeared in the Series 7 Part 1 episode, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” and Raine is set to appear in the premiere of Series 7 Part 2. Playing Waris Hussein, the director of Who‘s first episode, “An Unearthly Child,” will be Sacha Dhawan.

I was always curious who’d they find to bring Hartnell back to life, and Argus Filch would not have been my first choice. Now looking at them side by side, and damn, what a likeness. Plus, when I really think about it, he has the perfect demeanor to play the crotchety yet kind Hartnell. Bradley has said he’s “absolutely thrilled” to play a part in the anniversary, adding,

I first heard about this role from Mark [Gatiss] while watching the Diamond Jubilee flotilla from the roof of the National Theatre. When he asked if I would be interested, I almost bit his hand off! Mark has written such a wonderful script not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television’s history. William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I’m so looking forward to getting started.

With the official anniversary date being November 23rd, expect An Adventure in Time and Space to premiere near then, on both BBC and BBC America. Whovians, what do you think of the casting?

Filming is currently underway for the seventh season of Doctor Who. We’ve had a chance to see a few images that leaked showing cast members running, the usual action for any Who episode, but now thanks to Doctor Who Magazine a few rumors about upcoming episodes have been confirmed.

He’s written a Western, a genre not seen since in Doctor Who since 1966. It’s being shot in Alemria in Spain at ‘Mini-Hollywood’, which is a Tourist Attraction that was built around the sets from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns. (So expect a joke about Ponchos being cool.) As they did with Croatia a couple of years back, they’re doing location shooting for two episodes while they’re there and the rumour is that the Tabernas Desert will be standing in for the ruins of Skaro.

At the time this comment treated as complete rumor because what facts are there to go from? None. But now after perusing Doctor Who Magazine, Bleeding Cool thinks there might be something to it. First off, DWM confirms they are currently filming in Spain for what will be a Western-genre episode. This Western episode will also feature Farscape‘s Ben Browder as a guest star and Sal Metzstein will be directing. There’s no talk about an episode set on Skaro, so that bit may or may not turn out to be true.

We also learned the episode we saw them filming earlier, the one with Mark Williams, will have a Chris Chibnall-penned screenplay and more guest appearances from Rupert Graves and David Bradley. Finally, for the last bit of Who news revealed in DWM, we now know season seven will be split into two blocks and the assumption is the split will happen with the Christmas episode. Also, two episodes from this second half will have Nick Hurran for director and will be written by Steven Moffat. Place your bets now for whether or not those episodes will be a two-part finale. I’m gonna say yes.

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